cDNA sequence of Xenopus laevis bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)

Screening of a Xenopus laevis ovary cDNA library with an oligonucleotide derived from the activin A sequence led to the isolation of several clones belonging to the TGF-β supergene family. One of these clones codes for the Xenopus bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2). The deduced protein contains 398 amino acids with a predicted M r of 45 581. Within the C-terminal 114 amino acids constituting the mature, biologically active protein there are only four exchanges (three of them are conservative ones) as compared to the corresponding human sequence.